أردِّدُ الظّنَّ بينَ اليأسِ والأملِ

وأعْذِرُ الحبَّ يُفْضي بي إِلى العَذَلِ

I waver between despair and hope

And forgive love though it leads me to reproach

وأسْألُ الطّيْفَ عنْ سَلْمى إذا قُبِلَتْ

شَفاعَةُ النّوْمِ للسّاري إِلى المُقَلِ

I ask the specter about Salma if

The intercession of sleep avails the insomniac

وما أظُنُّ عُهودَ الرّمْلِ باقِيَةً

وأيُّ عَهْدِكِ يا ظَمْياءُ لم يَحُلِ

I don’t think the promises of the sand dunes last

What promise of yours, O obscure night, has come true?

للهِ ما صَنَعَتْ أيْدي الرِّكابِ بِنا

عَشيّةَ اسْتَتَرَ الأقْمارُ بالكِلَلِ

What the hands of fate did to us

The evening the moons donned their veils

إذا ابْتَسَمْنَ سَلَبْنَ البَرْقَ رَوْعَتَهُ

وإنْ نَظَرْنَ فجَعْنَ الظّبْيَ بالكَحَلِ

When they smile they rob lightning of its ferocity

And when they glance they seduce the gazelle with kohl

مِنْ كُلِّ بَيْضاءَ مَصقولٍ تَرائِبُها

مَقسومَةِ العَهْدِ بينَ الغَدْرِ والمَلَلِ

Of every polished white forearm its bracelets

Divide loyalty between betrayal and boredom

تَسُلُّ منْ مُقْلَتَيْها صارِماً أخَذَتْ

مِنْ حَدِّه وَجْنَتاها حُمْرَةَ الخَجَلِ

From her eyelashes it unsheathed a sharp sword that took

From its edge and her cheeks the redness of shyness

طَرَقْتُها والدُّجى شابَتْ ذَوائِبُهُ

والفَجْرُ مُقْتَبِلٌ في زِيِّ مُكْتَهِلِ

I came to her while the darkness was still thick

And dawn approaching in golden raiment

وللرّقيبِ خُشوعٌ في لَواحِظِهِ

يُعيرُها نَظراتِ الشّارِبِ الثّمِلِ

And the spy has humility in his glances

That mock her with the looks of a drunken reveler

فردَّ دونَ وِشاحَيْها العَفافُ يَداً

تَبُزُّ في الرّوْعِ دِرْعَ الفارِسِ البَطَلِ

So virtue drove back beneath her sleeves a hand

That triumphs in panic like the valiant knight’s armor

ثمّ انْصَرَفْتُ وقَلْبانا كأنّهُما

عِندَ الوَداع جَناحا طائرٍ وَجِلِ

Then I left while our hearts were like

A bird’s wings folded in farewell

وفي مَباسِمِها لي ما يُتابِعُهُ

بِراحَتَيْكَ المُلوكُ الصِّيدُ مِنْ قُبَلِ

In her smiles for me what kings pursue

With your approval the hunt of old

للهِ دَرُّكَ منْ قَرمٍ كمِ اخْتَضَبَتْ

إليهِ بالدّمِ أيْدي الخَيْلِ والإبِلِ

God reward you for a ruin whose soil

Was reddened for Him by horses and camels’ blood

سَهْلِ الشّريعَةِ سَبّاقٍ إِلى أمدٍ

تَسْري الرّياحُ بهِ حَسْرى على مَهَلِ

On the plain of Shari’ah a racer to glory

Whose winds blow sadly at a walking pace

ومُستَبِدٍّ برأيٍ لا يُتَعْتِعُهُ

خَطْبٌ يُشيرُ على الآراءِ بالزَّلَلِ

And a despot in judgment whom no argument

Can sway, gesturing at opinions with error

يَنْضوهُ للأمْرِ قد سُدَّتْ مَطالِعُهُ

وضاقَ في طَرَفَيْهِ مَسْلَكُ الحِيَلِ

Resolute for command though its paths are blocked to him

And in his eyes the way of tricks has narrowed

والسّيْفُ يَنْفَعُ يومَ الرّوعِ حامِلَهُ

إذا تبدَّلَ يُمْناهُ منَ الخَلَلِ

The sword profits its bearer on the day of panic

If its edge is keener than the flaws within

فزادَهُ المُقْتَدي باللهِ تَكْرِمَةً

كَسَتْهُ بُرْدَ الشّبابِ الناضِرِ الخَضِلِ

So the follower of God increased him in bounty

Cloaking him in the verdant garb of youth renewed

وعادَ رَيْعانُ عُمْرٍ بانَ رَيِّقُهُ

فراجَعَ البيضَ منْ أيّامِهِ الأُوَلِ

And the vigor of bygone days returned to him

When he revisited the first whiteness of his days

يُزْهَى بهِ الخِلَعُ المَيْمونُ طائِرُها

زَهْوَ الخَرائِدِ بالمكْحولَةِ النُّجُلِ

The propitious robes make their wearer radiant

With the brilliance of the star Canopus unleashed

هُنّ الرّياضُ لها مِنْ خُلْقِهِ زَهَرٌ

ومِنْ أيادِيهِ صَوْبُ العارِضِ الهَطِلِ

And whose pouring rain is his hands’ tilt

Whoever dons the mantle of pride

ومَنْ غَدا بِرِداءِ الفَخْرِ مُشْتَمِلاً

أضْحى بِما يَكْتَسيهِ غيرَ مُحتَفِلِ

Becomes heedless in what clothes him

And fate and foes came to him in a swoon

وجاءَهُ الطِّرْفُ والأعْداءُ في كَمَدٍ

يُدْمي الجَوانِحَ والإخْوانُ في جَذَلِ

Drenching intimates and brothers in their blood

Borne by his guide though necks bow down

يَسْمو بهادِيهِ والأعناقُ خاضِعَةٌ

لِحافِرٍ بعُيونِ القَوْمِ مُنْتَعِلِ

To a hoof the people’s eyes regard as defiled

O Saad how many blessings have you attained

يا سَعْدُ كَمْ لكَ منْ نَعْماءَ جُدْتَ بِها

حتّى تَرَكْتَ الحَيا يُعْزى إِلى البَخَلِ

Leaving the living to be envied for their stinginess!

Are these the reeds of rule you wield

أهذِهِ قَصَباتُ المُلْكِ تُعْمِلُها

أمِ الضّرائِرُ للخَطّيّةِ الذُّبُلِ

Or the adversities of sins withered?

You have attained by them what was hard to seek

فقد بلَغْتَ بِها ما عَزَّ مَطْلَبُهُ

على ظُبا الهِنْد وانِيّاتِ والأسَلِ

Beyond Indian onagers and does of the slopes

Indeed the battalions are books issued from you

إنّ الكَتائِبَ كُتْبٌ عَنْكَ صادِرَةٌ

فاسْدُدْ بِها لَهَواتِ السّهْلِ والجَبَلِ

So fortify by them the whims of flat and rugged ground

And pride yourself on the glory you have bound

وافْخَرْ بِما شِدْتَ مِنْ مَجْدٍ يُؤثِّلُهُ

ندىً يَروحُ ويَغْدو غايَةَ المَثَلِ

Whose dew comes and goes the epitome of ideals

Though the noble ways are multifarious

إنّ المَكارِمَ شتّى في طَرائِقِها

وأنتَ تَنْزِلُ منها مُلْتَقى السُّبُلِ

You are the convergence of their paths

May the assemblage of glories continue constant from you

لا زالَ شَمْلُ المَعالي منكَ مُنتَظِماً

ودامَ صَرْفُ اللّيالي عنْكَ في شُغُلِ

And the passing of nights keep you busy